Six police officers were killed and 12 wounded after gunmen opened fire in a series of attacks in Russia’s Dagestan region, according to the interior ministry. The attacks targeted a synagogue and an Orthodox church in Derbent, as well as a traffic police post later in Makhachkala.
A priest was also killed in the attacks. Reports indicate that two of the gunmen have been shot dead. Some attackers were reportedly hiding in a building in Derbent, which police were preparing to storm.
A counter-terrorist operation is ongoing to search for the gunmen in Derbent and Makhachkala, the chief administrative town in Dagestan, according to Russia’s national anti-terrorist committee. The interior ministry stated that unidentified individuals fired automatic weapons at both the synagogue and the church, setting them on fire. The attackers then fled in a car.
Later, there was an exchange of gunfire at a police post in Makhachkala, about 125 km (75 miles) to the north along the Caspian Sea coast. Police were preparing to storm a building in Derbent where the gunmen were holed up, as reported by the Telegram messaging app channel Mash.
